Killzone 3 Announced and Playable in 3D

Our friends in Europe (“where the history comes from”) recently held an event where journalists went hands-on with Killzone 3… in 3D. SCEE’s James Gallagher was there, and he’s got what you want to know: details.

Earlier this month I made my first trip to Amsterdam and while I didn’t get chance to visit the Van Gogh Museum, I did get a different sensory treat: I got to play Killzone 3 in 3D.

The select group of journalists invited had little idea of what to expect as they climbed the stairs to a private cinema in Amsterdam’s Melkweg, but soon Hermen Hulst, Managing Director of Guerrilla Games, took to the podium and revealed all.

Killzone 3 picks up where its predecessor left off and it’s a much grander experience in terms of scale and ambition. There will be more variety, more enemy types, massive environments and a broader vision of the planet Helghan and its many terrains. The presentation closed with a beautifully violent video montage of the Brutal Melee attacks, which are the new close range attacks.

I caught up with Hermen after his presentation to ask how community feedback has shaped Killzone 3.

“As you may know, we are always in close contact with the Killzone community,” he said. “The response to Killzone 2 has been fantastic but there is a general response that it had too many ‘corridors.’ We have to temper that with the knowledge that many players really enjoy that gameplay style. Our plan is to solve this dilemma with huge variation in gameplay styles.

“We had plenty of variety in Killzone 2 but much of it was introduced in the second half of the game. This time around, right from the start every new level has its own distinct feel.”

The level playable at the show was set in an arctic environment and introduced a number of new gameplay elements. One of the most eye-catching is the new jet packs: first you must fight off three Jetpack Troopers, who are quick and heavily armed. Once you defeat them, you discover a spare jetpack that you can strap yourself into. It works like an exaggerated jump, allowing you to soar high into the air and use the forward thrust twice before having to land, and opens up the possibilities for platforming and aerial combat.

“If you remember, the Jetpack Troopers were in Killzone: Liberation on PSP and we’ve always wanted to bring them back,” explained Hermen. “When you include aerial combat you obviously need plenty of space so the much bigger levels in Killzone 3 have presented us with the opportunity to include this enemy.”

The story is an important part of the Killzone experience so I asked him to set the scene. Warning: there’s a Killzone 2 spoiler in his response.

“We recognise how important the story is in Killzone games,” he replied, “and we’re making great leaps forward with character development and the quality of the dialogue and the writing. We’re going all-out to make Killzone 3 a rounded experience on all fronts.

“So with Visari gone, there’s a power vacuum on Helghan where figures like Stahl, the head of the Helghan weapon producer, are vying for power. Essentially, the surviving ISA soldiers are caught in the middle of a catfight when what they really need is to get the hell off the planet and return to Vekta.

“On the ground, this political situation changes the nature of the conflict. The Helghan are now in the ascendency and they are bringing a great deal of new technology to the fray. The result for the player is that you’ll be encountering new weapons and enemy types with their own distinct behaviour.”

Finally, I was told beforehand that we wouldn’t be mentioning multiplayer at this particular event but I knew you wouldn’t forgive me if I didn’t at least broach it, so I asked how much of the team’s energy is going into this component.

“We always refer to multiplayer as ‘the other half of the game’,” he said, “meaning that it’s just as important to us as single player. It’s an area on which we have key individuals working and I can promise true innovation. Right now we’re looking through all of the feedback we received on Killzone 2, particularly around accessibility.”

I came away with so many thoughts and impressions from the event that I feel like I could write a short novel. Head to over to eu.playstation.com to read an impressions piece that I wrote, which goes into more detail on the incredible stereoscopic 3D. Feel free to ask questions in the comments; I have more info and quotes from Hermen that I can drop in there where relevant.

Thanks, James. As you (and I) salivate over these impressions from Europe, know that we’ll have our own take on things coming very soon. Anything more you’d like to know about Killzone 3? Ask away below and we’ll save those answers for our next post.

1) What engine optimizations have you done, and how has that improved the graphics and/or performance?

2) Will we see a return of secondary functions (underslung grenade launcher attacked to the ISA rifle, single fire shotgun on the Helghast Rifle, etc)?

3) Will we finally see vehicles in the multiplayer, similar to KZ2 blog entry which showed pre-alpha multiplayer that had secondary weapons and vehicles?

4) Will we see a return to the 3 weapon system in the original Killzone, or a true 2 weapon system, unlike the system in KZ2 which was more of a 1 weapon system (as you always had your pistol and one other weapon, you were forced to use 1 of the unique weapons at a time)

I HIGLY AGREE WITH DESTINY89 this is one game every ps3 owner should have itz going to be one of the best games ive ever played lol n i have a 3d hdtv sony tv this is just going to be right wit this hits shelves move over COD lol

WOW! it looks like you guys (GG) have been working hard on the soon to be best fps game of all time. I just hope there is more multiplayer modes and co-op and split screen in the game. Then only will kz3 be da S****

Question for the future: Was anything mentioned at this event about the sensitivity of controls? One of the biggest complaints about KZ2 were the controls, and how heavy/delayed/laggy they felt, even after a patch that supposedly helped. Did he say if the controls would be more sensitive or tight?

Awesome series and a huge fan.I would like to see the profanity lessened a bit. They sounded like sixth graders trying to impress each other. When you curse every sentence it really loses the impact that it is intended to convey and lacks originality. Anyways, guess i’ll have to strap on my boots and start stompin’ Helghan ground again.

Oh this 3D thing is crazy in good and bad ways, so i hope and i think you should make two versions on the game one in 3D and the other in 2D. Why? well i don’t HAVE A 3D tv and im sure many others do not have a 3D tv….. I just got a HD TV (60 inch)

a) Sony will drop the big bombs at E3 (bigger than KZ3 and LBP2) and impress everybody with their announcements.
b) Sony will just SHOW the games already announced, focus entirely on Move and disappoint.

I liked the game but the aiming was really bad, I felt it was holding me back from playing competitively to my fullest extent online. The “weight” gimmick is silly, the avatars we play through should be trained and able to handle their equipment. I especially hate aim acceleration. It should be a constant (configurable) speed no matter how far you push the analog stick.

So I’ll ask again, will they be changing their aiming system to accommodate the quick-to-react players?

mannnnnnnnn I absolutely cannot WAIT for KZ3D! I hope the graphics don’t take a hit from being in 3D :( I played KZ2 to death. I was ranked in the 4,000s (lol) in score in the online multiplayer. I used to love that game. But like I said, I played it too much and burnt myself out on it =/

…Seriously, when I have a couple friends over, playing KZ3 on splitscreen would be epic. Nobody else I know in real life has KZ2, so I’d assume it’ll be the same for KZ3, and I’d never be able to play with friends.

@SpiritThief I agree, I hope this is not a ploy to make us want to get that lame 3D tv, I just bought a LED tv and cannot or will not run out and buy a 3D one.
they have not even put 1080p on digital HD cable yet.

I hope we can just play it normally, it should be a great game!
the last KZ2 was awesome keep it up!

I just hope they have a control setting that is closer to COD-style. what i mean is, at least for my own experience. having to tap R1 rather then press down to look through the sights, made me aware of my controller all the time. that i had to ‘tap’ to look in and tap again to stop aiming.

Games are already immersive and pull you in completely if the graphics are good and the story is compelling! 3D is not as important to us consumers as the TV makers would like us all to believe.

Killzone should not be the testing ground for this new 3D technology, the KZ franchise is too important!! Take your time and do the game justice. You know what KZ2 was lacking and it wasn’t 3D!! Tying it to the 3D hype could Kill the game!! Noooo!

I’m not an early adopter and never will be, let someone else pay to beta-test a new 3D TV!! I get a headache from those glasses after an hour anyways!

I bought KZ2 and beat it but didn’t really think it was that great. I loved maybe the first hour of it but it got pretty repetitive pretty quickly for me. I wasn’t planning on getting KZ3 once I heard that it existed, but if its environments are as diverse as it is starting to seem, I may buy it after all.